A New Hope
by Emery Saks
Summary: CONTROL has been been reactivated. A quick one shot on what Max might have been thinking. Revised 2007


Disclaimer: I don't own Get Smart. I am merely doing this for pleasure.

**A New Hope**

Nervous didn't even begin to describe how Maxwell Smart was feeling. He was dressed to the nines, his charcoal black suit coat fitting loosely over the deep turquoise shirt he wore – a gift from 99 for his big day. It contrasted nicely with the crimson necktie his son Zach had given him. His shoes were so polished and buffed they gave him a glimpse of himself every time he looked down at his feet. They even caught the shining sun and bounced it back at him, reflecting off his silver hair, which still held traces of the jet black it has once been.

Although nobody who knew the man would ever call him timid, had anyone been observing him, they would have noticed that the hesitant hand trembled slightly when he finally reached for the door handle he had been eyeing warily for the past five minutes. The one-inch, white, block letters jumped out from the dark red door. Silently mouthing their message, he read, "Car wash. Back Entrance."

To the casual observer, the simply words might not have seemed threatening, and certainly not enough to warrant a staring match between man and the seemingly harmless, yet apparently terrifying entrance. But Maxwell Smart was no casual observer. He was once an international and famous – within the covert world of cloak and dagger – first-class spy extraordinaire, defeating the minions of KAOS on a daily basis, moving within a world of shadows, inhabited by an elite group of men and women known as CONTROL.

But time, as it always does, stepped in and demanded change to his ordered existence. He had buried the man who had been like a father to him and watched as CONTROL was disbanded and its responsibilities were slowly fazed out and given over to the CIA. He had watched with the pride only a father can possess as his children grew from curious whirlwinds of chaos always getting into some predicament to intelligent, young adult whirlwinds now entering their final year of college.

His government work as a stand-in for high-ranking officials was interesting and oftentimes exciting in who it allowed him to meet, but it paled in comparison to his brief re-activation as a spy when his government once again needed his help to defend the free world from the evils clutches of KAOS and its weather machine. Even the pride he took in his wife's accomplishment at being elected to Congress couldn't keep a vague feeling of emptiness from creeping into his life every now and then. But then, with one simple phone call, his life suddenly had a new focus – Maxwell Smart, Agent 86, once again had a purpose.

Now, here he stood, the door still staring silently back at him. He almost believed it was waiting for him, beckoning him to open it, to take the first step into the next chapter of his life. He took a deep breath and turned the handle, pushing the door open. A dozen heads turned as he stepped across the threshold, and then at once, a dozen voices called out, competing with one another for the first hello.

"Morning, Chief!"

"Hello, Sir!"

"Chief, can you believe it?! CONTROL reactivated. Who would have thought it possible? It's like Christmas in July!"

The latter came from Agent 13, who was still trying to assimilate the fact that CONTROL had indeed been reactivated and that Maxwell Smart was its new Chief. The former was easier than the latter, but he figured he would eventually get used to it. After all, Max, for all his bumbling ways and unorthodox approaches, had always managed to come out on top. Besides, having odd situations and adjusting to strange ideas and surroundings was old hat to 13, after everything the previous Chief of CONTROL had thrown at him during his younger days.

"Christmas in July, eh?" Max grinned. "Does this mean you got me a gift, 13? Because I've had my eye on this golf club…" Max trailed off in puzzlement as he watched 13 roll his eyes and then clap Max on the back.

"It's nice to know some things will never change," 13 grinned.

Max looked at him with a confused expression. "What are you talking about, 13?"

"Nothing, Chief. C'mon," he pushed Max toward a door that said "Chief" in big bold letters. "We've got a big day ahead of us, and I don't want to miss a thing."

Max stopped in front of the Chief's door – his door. He thought for a moment and then turned to 13, a slow grin beginning to spread across his face.

"You know 13, you're right. We do have a big day in front of us. But you know what's even better than that?"

13 glanced at him with a knowing smile. "What's that, Max?"

"We've got the rest of our lives."

13 could only nod in agreement as the two men made their way into the office, the door shutting silently behind them, guarding the secrets and the spies responsible for a nation.


End file.
